Heart of Fire
by SonSofia
Summary: GkVg AU Angsty. Goku wants to leave the planet and Vegeta doesn't stop him. But he really should have...
1. Chapter 1

Heart of Fire

Disclaimer: I don't own Dragonball z/GT. I'm not Akira Toriyama. Or whoever owns Dragonball GT. I wish I were. Kudos to them.Anyhow on with the story!

Chapter One -Goodbye.

I haven't slept in days.

Sleep alludes me, I can't seem to keep my eyes closed for a long period of time.

I don't dream. I just lie awake wondering, why I feel the need to punish myself with my own thoughts. Restless as I am, I always feel tired, but I just can't sleep. It's more than insomnia.

It's insanity.

Feelings, thoughts, and other emotions bombard my psyche, stealing from me all that is inane and normal. I am different now. I am no longer the man that wants for others more than he wants for himself. I want. I need. Just like everyone else, but unlike everyone else, what I want is beyond unobtainable. It is out of reach. It is an impossibility, of that I am certain.

Roll with the punches. Go with the flow.

Life as usual. I would start with waking up, but I never go to sleep anymore. So I eat when I can, spar, when I can, and think when I can. And these days I have all the time in the world to think. I can think about him, but I can never have him, never touch him, never tell him how I feel. Because he _will _reject me, hurt me, kill me.

I don't feel as though I could keep going through life this way. So many more years to go. I curse my Saiyan heritage, of which I know nothing about. I am only 87. And have as many as 100 plus years to go on living. But I don't think I can. Not here.

My wife is dead, one of my sons, Goten, is gone as well, all the result of life taking its toll. Goten was killed in a freak accident. Your thinking, he's part Saiyan, what accident could kill him? But you must remember, that he is also half human and that side of him failed him. I won't go into detail, as I have long since grieved.

My eldest son Gohan, doesn't even visit anymore.

I'm not surprised. He's happy, he has found the one he loves and there is no space for a needy stupid man like me. I want what I cant have.

I have contemplated leaving the planet, the idea still fresh in my mind. Who would miss me? Not him. I could leave any day now and he would only see it as a lost sparring partner. Nothing special. Nothing worth loving.

I have my things packed and I am ready but still I hesitate.

What if?

What if what? If he wants me to stay? If he loves me like I love him?

Yeah, I think I will leave. But I want so desperately to say goodbye. I cant leave without at least giving him that. Not that I owe it to him. I fly over to Capsule Corp, where he has continued living after Bulma died and Trunks moved out. I know where to find him and I land in front of the Gravity Machine. I don't think before I'm knocking on the door.

A stream of curses could be heard from the other side. He always was very expressive. The door hisses open and I am staring down into his scowling face. He is obviously not happy to see me.

"What the hell do, you want Kakarot?" I suck in a breath. "I'm leaving" His expression does not change. "Then go" He tries to close the door. I realize he doesn't understand. I push the door open and walk in. By now he is shaking with rage. "What the hell do you think your doing you said you were leaving, so go home, clown!"

I shake my head sadly. "No, Vegeta, I'm leaving the planet, and I wanted to say goodbye"

His eyes widen and for a moment, I thought I saw a flash of regret. Wishful thinking. "Your what?" he asks. Almost as if he cant believe it. I say it again. "I'm leaving, I need to leave here, I cant stay" "Why?" He asks. I don't expect this and don't know how to answer. "..." "Why?" Again. "I... just...am, I cant stay" He sneers and turns around. "Fine then, go, I don't need you here anyway, third class"

That's what I thought.

Without another word, I turn and walk out of the room and don't look back. This is the last time I will see him and I can't even bring myself to look at him one last time. He won't miss, he wants this as much as I do. I keep walking expecting to hear, "Kakarot, wait" but I hear nothing and I fly away, never to be seen again.

This is my first fic, so please have mercy and review. I look forward to it. I'll try to write more, this is a prologue and I wanted to start it the right way. See ya! - SonSofia.


	2. Chapter 2

SonSofia, here, I realized that this story is slowly, but surely, turning in an AU (Alternate Universe) fic, and I'm going to let it. The chapters will be longer, but it is short now because I am writing off of the top of my head and don't have many ideas yet. But I will soon and I will share them. I appreciate the reviews and hope to update as soon as I can. And, MACHA, I read your stories and their awesome! Please update when you can.

Heart of Fire  
Chapter Two- The true meaning of loneliness.

Disclaimer: I don't own DBZ, and I never will. I will only put this disclaimer on one more time, by now everybody should know that I'll never own or plagiarize Dragonball z/GT  
Summary: Goku lands on Planet Lais, and begins a search for a new life. But it isn't going to be easy.

It wasn't easy but, I packed my things and left. After all I've done for the people of Earth there was nobody there to save me when I needed to be saved. I needed to be alone, a place void of Vegeta. And my feelings.

It made me envy him. He had complete control, or so it seemed. He was able to control his emotions and never let anyone see what he was feeling on the inside. I wish I could do that.

I wish I could put on a mask of indifference and parade around as if nothing were wrong. But just as I am, I can't. I put on the happy facade and hoped nobody could see what I felt. But then there would always be someone that would walk up to me and ask if I was alright, even though I had a big dumb smile on my face.

They could see right through me.

So why couldn't Vegeta?

I wished he could, but was glad he couldn't. I don't know what I would do if he found out any other way. He already called me names; clown, idiot, fool, simpleton, third class. Then he would have some other choice words to add to the list; fag, homo, nasty...

I didn't want him to think I was indecent. I wasn't a faggot or a homo. I was a man with feelings for another man. Okay, so I'm gay. And its wrong. I'm not human. But I can't be just any kind of person. I have to be right; that means having feelings for women, like a real man should. Being 'straight' and the like.

I can't answer to that, so I have to leave.

After I packed my things and boarded the ship, I thought about something. How was I going to eat? What was I going to eat. I couldn't cook. I always ate my meals at Capsule Corp, where the servobots would prepare it for me. Maybe I could go back and get a few.

But that would mean seeing Vegeta. And that was something I did not want to do.

So I left, my stomach empty and my head full, with nothing but the clothes on my back and some small trinkets. I dont need much seeing as this is the first day of the rest of my life.

The ship rocks and shutters as it exits orbit. I am used to this by now and I easily relax as much as I could. I don't look back at Earth. I want to, but I don't. The ship is the same model Vegeta used to go into space. Complete with gravity simulator and the latest upgrades, the ship was perfect for me. I would train in my spare time when I'm not thinking.

The computer beeps and asks me to enter a coordinate. I just randomly select one and I'm off, I don't know where but I don't care. I just want to go anywhere that isn't earth.

A world without Vegeta.

I feel myself falling asleep after weeks of restlessness and for the first time, my mind is at peace.

I trained when I could and made time to meditate, which was good because now I would have plenty of time to sort my thoughts. I was till hungry and my stomach pleaded with me to feed it. But I would not eat for a few more weeks yet. Luckily for me, a Saiyan could withstand going without food for almost a whole month. But it was going to be harder for me, because I loved food and it would be rather hard to train on an empty stomach.

The days went on and I meditated for nights on end, trying to block out the empty feeling in my stomach and my heart. I missed him. And it hurt like hell to know that he doesnt give a shit about me when all I can think about is him.

It seemed so unfair! I had done so much, for so little. I stupidly thought that my efforts to save mankind would pay off and that I would gain his respect. All for nothing! He still regarded me as being lower than the dust and gave me no respect. There were times I thought I was close, only to be shot down by his cruel words and cold heart.  
How could I love someone like that? We don't even think on the same level. So incompatible, so different, yet I thought we were perfect for each other.

'Vegeta.'

My heart ached but so did my stomach. I was so hungry. I hope I don't die out here. But then again, that may not be so bad. I could die and float away in space forever. Deteriorate, so that the only things that would be left were my particles, and even that would not last long.

Nobody would remember me, I had out lived generations already, and there never was any evidence that I was actually alive. I didn't have a birth certificate, no identification, just pictures of me from old martial arts tournaments.

Nobody really knew me. I was just another temporary legend played out. I could die now and nobody would remember the name;

Son Goku.

Maybe if I get to whatever planet it is that I'm going, I will be able to start a new life, and maybe, find someone to love, someone that loves me back. The thought seems highly unlikely, but it was worth a try.

I will not die. Not yet anyway.

I will not let this obsession be most important thing in my life. Even if it is.

The gravity suddenly increases and I am flattened instantly against the ground. I hadn't been paying attention, and the change took me by surprise. I slowly get up an slam my hand on the big red button.

"Gravity decreasing. May cause nausea"

The gravity went back down to normal and I plopped back to the ground. I had been too preoccupied with my thoughts.

"Thats it", I grunted. "From here on, I will banish him from my thoughts and never speak his name again" I swore this on the memory of my son Goten, who was the only one that ever really loved me. I would never again let him plague my mind, I would start my new life from scratch, the only one I will choose to remember is Goten.

It would be hard but I will put every ounce of determination into this promise that I intended to keep.

I had fallen into a daily routine of training until the pain in my stomach grew too intense to move then, I would sit by the window and meditate the pain away. Then I would continue training.

I had no real reason to train, it was just something that helped pass the time. I was strong nut I didn't want to run into any trouble in space or on the planet I was headed for. I was deep in space and Earth was billions of miles away.

It had been three weeks since I had been in space and in six more days, I would be landing on the planet I had randomly chosen. Then I would find something to eat and continue my training.

That seemed like a good plan. I was feeling confident now. I would land on another planet in six days, and I actually was looking forward to it. More the food, though. For the next four days, I trained as hard as I could without passing out. By the fifth day, I was sprawled out on the floor, groaning in pain and I couldn't move. I was losing strength quick and I was beginning to think that I wouldn't make it.

The bouncing of the ship as it entered the planets atmosphere wasn't initially what woke me up. What woke me up was the sharp decrease in temperature. Suddenly it was really cold. I crawled over to the ships control panel and pressed a few buttons.

The planet was called Lais, and it had a population of 190 billion, many times the population of Earth. It was very big and blue. Not the blue of Earth, but a icy blue that indicated that the planet was made mostly of ice. I shivered and regretted not bringing something warmer to wear.

Instead of burning in the atmosphere, the ship was enveloped by an icy cover that chilled to ship to its core, and thensome. I curl up and try to gather some warmth from the bit of clothing I have on, but there is none to be found.

I was going to freeze to death in the atmosphere.

_So cold_...

I tried not to let the last thing I thought about be him. If I was going to die, it would be with my body completely purged of emotion.

The temperature just kept dropping and my skin eventually began to turn blue and icy pain surged through my body. I was finished.


	3. Chapter 3

Heart of Fire Chapter Three- Welcome to Lais

Authors Note: I can't tell if this was rushed, but I made it longer and hope I get some feedback. I hope you enjoy!

The ship imploded upon impact, the ice caving inward on itself crushing the freezing Saiyan inside. A huge ball of ice, now, it crumbled into jagged blocks. Irrepairable.

The ship landed in the middle of a crystalline city, forcing the residents out of the way. The loud sound had gotten their attention and they came from all over the city, to see what it was. The creatures were red, a contrast to the element of their planet. They didn't look friendly.

Many of the creatures looked onward. One of them slowly walked forward. The others joined when it appeared that the thing would pose no threat. Everything looked like ice, but there was a distinct shape to one block. Looking closely, they realized that there was something inside.

An alien!

Backing away, the creature pulled out a stick and poked cautiously at the icy figure. "What is it?" One of them asked.

"How should I know?"

A voice cut through the confused babbling of the others. "Melt it, and bring it to me"

A Lais-jin piped up, "But Sire, what if it is alive? It seems innocuous at best"

"I don't care!" the bigger one barked. "Do it now! Or you will be killed!"

The Lais-jins scurried over to the gelid body and proceeded to clear the icy debris away. Then, they hurriedly, but carefully, carried the large piece of ice to a small dark ice-hut.

It took hours to melt the near permanently frozen body, but when they did, the Lais-jins stepped back, terrified.

"Call Lord Herma, quick! He has to see this"

It was dark and cold. Something was touching me, and that was cold too.

I could tell that wherever I was, I was not alone and I couldn't move. I couldn't even open my eyes. But I could hear voices.

"Get the Brute Rays! We will need all we can to sustain memory!"

I don't know what they're talking about, but I felt it was time I got out of here. If I had the strength. I wiggled around as much as I could, trying to coax circulation back into my body. But I couldn't get out, for some reason I felt so weak...

"He's trying to escape"

"Should we put him to sleep again?"

"No, let him struggle, he won't be going anywhere"

I knew I was in trouble. Whatever planet this was I know I'm in trouble. These people didn't seem like they were going to let me go at all. I don't remember how I got here, I know I'm cold and that I don't like what I hear.

"He came here from the Planet Earth. He appears to be weak, but not human"

Earth, where was that? Did this mean that I don't live here? I don't know what's going on. Something isn't right but I just can't put my finger on what.

I don't remember anything.

"Do you know your name?" At first I didn't realize the question was directed at me, so I didn't respond. "What is your name?" The voice asked again. I had amnesia, but I wasn't stupid.

"Who are you and what are you doing to me?" I tried again to sit up, but I still couldn't, something was holding me down.

"Never mind that. I will ask you again, one more time and we will use more apinful ways to get it out of you. Again, What is your name?"

"I don't know"

This answer seemed to satisfy the voice.

"The Brute Rays are not working, what should we do?" Another voice.

The voice closest to me replied. "Kill him"

I tried to get away, even yell, but I was silenced, by another, deeper voice interjecting.

"What the hell do you think your doing? Kill him? Fools, move out of the way, I will take him."

"Yes Sire" The others chorused.

"We mustn't waste such an opportunity, he may be useful"

Then my world faded into darkness again.

_"I'm leaving..." I said. _

_The shadowy figure didn't move. "Go I don't want to see your face again" The figure raises it's hand and a blinding light is glowing in the center of it's palm. "Die!"_

_The glowing ball hurtles toward me and I am utterly helpless to stop it. It engulfs my body. I scream in agony as the pain tears through me. _

_"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"_

And then I would wake up and I'm sweating and panting, but most of all, confused. Who was the person in the dream? Was it someone I used to know? And why did he kill me?

I would fall back to sleep wondering about these dream. They kept coming, each more horrifying than the last. In some dreams there were more people, and they all killed me at the same time. It always started of with the same statement.

"_I'm leaving" _Then someone would kill me in the most terrifying ways and some called me names, I don't remember what, but they hurt me as much as the glowing ball, sometimes more. And I didn't know why.

For days I was probed and analyzed, when I wasn't in deep sleep, I could feel a caustic pain in the back of my head. After weeks of this, I was finally moved.

This time when I woke up I was able to move, see and speak. But I was in a large glass room. I tried pounding on the glass, but something sharp and cold laced through my body. I stumbled back.

"I don't think you should do that, you could get hurt" I looked in the direction of the voice and saw a large red skinned creature, with swollen purple eyes, and little horns on its head. It looked familiar.

"Well hello there your awake. Now, don't try anything foolish, or you will be punished."

I didn't move again.

"Good, now, do you remember anything?"

I said no. I couldn't remember a thing. The red thing smiled. "Good"

I don't recall seeing another person in the room with me but I was suddenly grabbed from behind whatever grabbed me, stuck a needle in my neck. I howled in pain and collapsed.

Again I woke up without the use of my limbs, but I could see and speak. The red thing I saw before was hovering above me, studying me. "You still remember nothing?"

"..."

"Well, I know who you are, you are Tarneus, a Lais-jin, you seem to have lost your memory in a crash." " We," he said pointing to the other red things that appeared out of nowhere, "are here to help nurse you back to health. In no time you will remember everything" I had no reason to think this was a lie, and shook my head. "Tarneus" I whispered. It didn't _feel_ like my name, but I had amnesia, what did I know?

"You have sustained great damage we----"

"Why is it so cold?" I interrupted. The red guy looked around as if he didn't have an answer. He looked surprised that I asked. "Um, well, you have a fever, we will remedy that soon" I shrugged. I did feel a little sick.

"The sooner we help you get your memory back, the better. Now, we will run a few tests, but don't be alarmed we are helping you"

I nodded and glanced around. And caught something in the glass. It was staring back at me. I blinked. It blinked. every move I made, he made. Then I realized. The man staring back at me, _was_ me. And I didn't have red skin, of bulging purple eyes.

"What are you guys?"

The red guy glanced at me. "I told you, we are Lais-jin"

"No you told me I was Lais-jin. But why don't I look like you? You have red skin and I don't" The red guy smirked. "You don't have to look like me" That was all he said and I accepted it. I was a bit different, so what? I knew what and who I was now, nothing else mattered.

I couldn't wait to get the rest of my memory back.

In a few days, like Lord Herma said, I had all sufficient memory back. I was Tarneus, a Lais-jin, but I was injured in a crash from visiting planet Earth. I still don't know what Earth is.

But when I get my strength back, I will destroy it.

We are a purging people. I was sent to scout planet Earth for information. I didn't there before my ship malfunctioned and I returned to my planet Lais. My ship crashed and I was injured.

It was relatively a nice day here on Lais. It was naturally dark with only a small sun to eluminate it. Our planet is made of Ice. It is a beautiful place.

It is my home.

I felt hungry when I came back, so I ate some food. It tasted horrible, but Herma said I would get used to it again. I ate a lot anyway. The other were surprised that I could eat so much. I was surprised also. The others didn't eat like that.

I was immediately put on a very strict schedule. Herma said it was normal. I was to train every day until the sun went down. Then I was to attend sessions to enhance my memory. The training was effortless and I fell into the regime easily, I guess it came naturally because I had been doing it all my life. However, I was much stronger than the others and was put under high surveillance. I was watched and proded everyday like a lab rat.

They said I was special.

I was the only one that had black hair and eyes on the planet. I looked human. Herma said I was not. I was humanoid. I started to hate all humans as Lais-jins do. They were vile, disgusting, warm-blooded creatures that were a waste of space. So I was going to destroy them. But I was told that before I could do so, I would have to undergo years of training. That was not a problem, I was a patient person. I would eliminate Earth in my own precious time, when I was ready. But it just felt good to be back home. I was just like the others, we would all go hunting the weaker species that shared this planet with us. Of course, we were not supposed to, but that didn't make it any less fun.

I had the desire to kill in my blood. It was the greatest feeling in the world. I don't recollect having these thought when I first woke up, but I guess it is part of who I am.

"Tarneus, why don't you go and fuck around with that Per-jin female, she looks like good game!" Ferto, one of my brethren suggested. Per-jins were the species Lais-jin shared a planet with. But one day, Lord Herma vowed, the planet would be ours.

"I don't think so, I have something else to do" I really didn't want to mess around with some female, when I could be training.

Ferto glared at me. "Your never any fun, your different...since you came back, you are like another person. It's like you are a... a human!" That did it and I had Ferto by the neck in milliseconds. "What did you say? I didn't get that, say it again!" Ferto shook in my grasp. I dropped him. "I said that you were like a human, you never want to do anything we do. It's all we do and for someone not to want to do it is not normal".

"Well", I said, "I am different, I sure don't look as ugly as you!" Ferto quaked with rage. "Grrrrrr, wait until Sire hears of your insolence, he will pick your head clean off your shoulders!" I shrugged. "It makes no difference what I say" His eyes narrowed. "Who do you think you are?"

"You won't live long enough to tell your Sire" I rushed the ugly man and wrapped my hands around his throat once again. I squeezed until his already bulging eyes were hanging out of his head. He went limp and I let him slip from my finger.

I stood back and surveyed my handiwork. I could have probably toyed with him a little longer. Oh well.

I arrived for my training session with Bertis, a first class fighter. I was being re-trained to purge my first planet. A planet called Dusk was my first choice. It was a perpetually dark planet with no sun and 7 moons. This would be my 'Welcome Back' purge. And I would happily accept. My mission was to be in a few days. My training was coming along well, I had already landed a hit on Bertis, who was known for being 'untouchable'.

Well I showed him.

For the next few days I still dreamed, but the dreams were different. These dreams filled with screams of the name: Goku.

Who was that and why was _his_ name in my dream? It didn't matter to me. I was already very powerful and soon people will be calling out my name: Tarneus.

I was ready for my purging mission by sunset. I was the first to go. The ships were made of a cool, but not cold metal, that could withstand being with in 1,000 miles from the Sun without burning up. Any closer would turn me to a crisp. My skin tingled at the thought of destroying, technically, my first planet .It would take years before I could destroy a whole Solar System.

"Tarneus, are you ready. Get in the ship and report first to the Sigma Planet before going forth to purge. We will need confirmation to start to Terra-form the planet." "Yes sir!" I snapped. This was going to be fun. It made me giddy with excitement to know that I had the power to destroy an entire race at my finger tips.

Upon entering the ship, I thought I would be alone. I was wrong. In there were three other Lais-jins. And they were most unwelcome.

"Tarneus, we are here to see if everything is alright with ship. We wouldn't want you to have another little 'accident' Hm?" This he said with a smirk and a mysterious glint in his eye. A glint, I didn't like. "Get that silly smirk off your face, hurry on with it and get the fuck off of my ship!" The one that spoke first wasn't smirking anymore. He picked up his tool box and beckoned his friends to follow him. Now I was the one smirking. Here we go.

Once the four red freaks were out of the ship, I fired it up as quickly as I could. I regretted this action, because when the ship left the atmosphere and blasted into orbit, I was slmmmed around like a rag doll. I could barely control the ship! Once the rocking calmed down I put the ship on auto-pilot and relaxed. I was too anxious to get into space so I decided to speed things up.

A few hours into space, there was a hissing sound. I looked to the source of it and found a computer rising out of it's panel. A ugly red face appeared on the screen. "Do not forget to stop by Sigma Planet and---"

"Oh fuck off old man. I'm doing things my way now. So whatever I say goes. Don't worry, I'll tell you when the planet is dust"

The voice on the screen began to get agitated. "You are not to blow the planet up, just exterminate the people. You will follow orders lik----" I crushed the computer panel. It was no fun if I couldn't use my power? I wasn't playing by the rules, I knew, but I couldn't care much less. This was my first experience and I intended to make the most of it. I was still new to this and I want it to be more fun for me.

This was what I looked forward to since I awakened. The activities on the planet were getting tedious and I wanted more action. I planned very soon on leaving the planet and going off on my own to destroy planet, with nobody popping up on little computer screens tell me what to do.

I would be free.

Then I would blow that god-forsaken planet to smithereens along with all of those ugly red things. Perhaps I was not one of them, maybe they adopted me. But for certain I was not Lais-jin.

The space pod skimmed moons and dodged suns and me, I was having the best time. I don't know how I managed to forget _this much_ fun, but I would not let it happen again. For a moment the thought scared me, I'll admit, but the purpose of the trip was more intriguing. I must focus on the task at hand. I cannot allow myself to be disturbed for any reason. Sleeping was not something I wanted to do but had to do. It would be a few weeks before I got to Dusk. And for all the time I'm taking getting there, it had better be worth it.

To be continued...

This one is longer than the others and they will get longer. Please review and tell me what you guys think of the plot. I will get the next chapter up as soon as I can.

See ya!-SonSofia


	4. Chapter 4

SonSofia here, sorry it took so long to update the next chapter, but I was busy. College life sure is time consuming! Anyhow, here's Ch.4. I thought that I should put Vegeta's POV in here too to even up the plot. I typed this in about three hours. But it's because I have no real idea for this story. In know what I want it to be but, I'm making it up as I go along so I needed time to think about it. It takes a while because I have to come up with new idea while I'm writing. And I have so many other story ideas in my head; it's hard to concentrate on just one. I have to go to class now. See ya. Review and tell me what you think.

Months passed since the taller Saiyan left the planet for some unknown reason. Vegeta sat idly, staring off into space, a small grimace set into his handsome face. Of course, he was thinking about Goku. All kinds of questions plagued his mind. Not that he cared about where he went all that much. Still, it made him wonder.

"Now I have nobody to spar with" He muttered into his spoon.

Breakfast was good as usual, but melancholy because he was lonely. He normally ate with Goku, the taller Saiyan scarfing down his meal before Vegeta had a chance to touch his own. It was not the most pleasant experience seeing him eat, but it was the company that kept Vegeta from saying so. He didn't want to upset Goku and make him leave. So he kept quiet. Goku had left anyway.

Subconsciously, Vegeta was aware that whatever was bothering the other Saiyan, it had something to do with him. Was it something he said? Nothing out of the usual, just the normal insults. They never bothered Goku before. Their routine had been the same for years after their wives had passed.

'_Maybe I should go look for him'_ Vegeta thought.

It didn't make sense that Goku would leave like this. He seemed so...sad. It wasn't his normal, "I'm leaving see you guys later" attitude. This was forced. Like he didn't want to say goodbye but had to. _'I should have listened to what he had to say'_ then he would know why Goku left. But something in the back of his mind to him that even if he asked, Goku would not have wanted him to know.

_"Fine then go, I don't need you here anyway, third class"_

_'What if I told him not to go? Would he have gone anyway?' _

Vegeta tapped his spoon against the bowl. He had been so absorbed in his thoughts, that he didn't notice that the tapping sound had stopped. In his curiosity, he looked down. The bowl was shattered. Apparently, he had been tapping a little too hard. He stood, and swept the mess off of the table and into his hands. After washing the dishes himself, which was not something he normally did, he went and sat back at the table. He didn't feel very much like training.

_'I asked him why, but what I should have asked him was if he would ever come back'_

Vegeta sighed and put his head down on the table. Even the last of the Saiyans got lonely. Goku was the only companionship he had left on this planet. Now he was gone. Vegeta had let months pass without thinking too much about the other Saiyan, and now his feelings were getting the better of him. He had to know where Goku had gone.

_'I'm entitled to know, I'm his Prince"_

Against his better judgment, he found himself thinking about going out to find Goku. He was too old to lie to himself and say he didn't care anymore. He cared. But he wouldn't admit that it was not just because the taller Saiyan was no longer there to fight. It was something else, but Vegeta decided he would leave it alone. He had enough thinking for one day.

It was not very often he lost the urge to train, but he couldn't seem to find the inspiration today. So he decided he would just go to his room and sleep until he got the desire to train. One day wouldn't hurt. There hadn't been a foe on earth for twenty years, but Vegeta would have rather not been caught dead playing house while he could be training. Turning over, he inhaled sharply through his nose, and let out a wistful sigh.

Suddenly he had to need to be in his rival's old room. He didn't remember getting up, but before he knew it, he was there, inhaling the sheets. His face was buried in Goku's pillow. The older Saiyan always smelled good. He smelled good even after they finished sparring. Vegeta couldn't help himself and slowly crawled under the covers and drifted off to sleep.

It had been years since Vegeta last dreamed, so he woke up without much feeling. He forgot momentarily that he was not in his own bed. Goku's scent was everywhere. "What the hell?" Vegeta shot up and looked around. The room was simple, with white drapes, a simply one piece dresser, and a small television set. A small single bathroom was located at the left corner of the room. But the room was empty. The bed he was on still had the sheets and pillows.

And the scent still covered it. Almost as if he was there.

"Kakarot" Vegeta whispered quietly. Then he remembered that he was gone. And this was his room. Vegeta yanked his hand away from the pillow as if it had burned him. He leapt off the bed and backed away. What the hell had he been doing in Goku's bed? It took a few seconds before the memory hit him. He almost wanted to crawl back into the bed. For whatever reason, the scent of the other Saiyan made him calm. He didn't want to leave so he went over to a spot in the corner and sat down. Goku didn't have a chair in his room like Vegeta did. Vegeta eyed the bed thoughtfully.

_'Kakarot slept there_' He thought stupidly.

Of course he did. Goku had come to live at Capsule Corp. after Bulma died. His intentions didn't seem misplaced, so Vegeta didn't see anything wrong with letting him stay. So Goku chose a simple bedroom in the left wing of the building, around the corner from Vegeta's own room. Vegeta had passed Goku's room on many an occasion. Goku was a quiet, heavy sleeper. Looking at the tall man, one would think he snored, but he didn't. Some of the time, Vegeta would stand outside of his room and listen to him breathe softly. He never knew how he ended up in front of Goku's door, but some evenings he found himself there.

Sometimes he would be so bold as to open the door and take a few steps inside to get a closer look at the sleeping Saiyan. He never went further than the door, so that he could respond quickly should Goku wake. He would just stare at him for minutes on end.

He had to admit, Goku was _very_ beautiful, whether he was asleep or awake. This did not bother him like it would have a human. It was not uncommon for Saiyan males to be highly attractive. Goku was no exception. He was single handedly the most stunning man Vegeta had ever laid eyes on. But he was just a third class, nothing to get excited over. Vegeta would tell himself that his rival was just another pretty face.

Bulma was beautiful, the most beautiful human woman Vegeta knew. He loved her, sure, but most of the time it was just her appearance that made her beautiful. She was feisty, Vegeta liked that, and she was strong. Vegeta loved her for that. Goku was different, not only was he an idiot, but Vegeta was sure that he knew nothing outside of being naive.

The only times Goku's narrow mind was actually put to good use, was when he fought. Goku could be cunning and calculating when he _needed_ to be. But when Goku was living peacefully, Vegeta would wonder how the man could appear so stupid when he was clearly not? But he really would rather have it that way. It sure made Goku easier to boss around. Goku was obedient, like a puppy, and listened to all Vegeta said.

Then he started acting strange. He was obviously suppressing some emotion. He would always be some other place at odd times in the night. He almost never wanted to spar lately anymore, and he would find less and less time to eat with the Prince. Sometimes Vegeta found him in the house sulking quietly. He never stayed too long after he woke up, he would always have somewhere to go. Soon, it was like he wasn't there at all. Vegeta could instantly tell that the younger man was avoiding him. It was obvious. Whenever Vegeta would be in the kitchen, he would come in, obviously hungry. One look at Vegeta and he lost his appetite, muttering something about eating later. Vegeta found this amusing, but disturbing. He was tempted to ask him what was wrong, but he didn't want to seem like he was desperate to know.

Even if he was a little curious.

Goku spent less time around the house, and if he were there at all, he would be in his room, doing whatever it was he did. When he was around him, Vegeta would carefully watch him closely, just to see how he would react. This made Goku visibly uncomfortable and Vegeta decided he liked it. Sometimes he would stand close to him to see what he would do. Goku would laugh and slowly try to move away. It was then that Vegeta knew that whatever was bothering his companion, it had something to do with him. And if he was right, he was the reason the younger Saiyan left the planet. Vegeta pulled himself back into reality and stood up. He had made up his mind. He was going to look for Goku.

In a few hours Vegeta had prepared himself for the journey. He carried ample amounts of food and liquids in a capsule. And he brought warm thermal blankets and heaters. He had enough experience in space to know that there were some galaxies that had extreme temperatures. Did Goku know that? Probably not. Vegeta found one of Bulma's last and latest model space ship in a new hangar, never having been touched. It was big, much too big for one person, but Vegeta knew by taking one look at it what it was for and what it could do. Bulma, the smartest person on the planet next to her father, was his late wife after all. There was more to the ship than met the eye. Vegeta stepped into the ship and looked around closely. The ship was modeled after a spacecraft found on another planet after one of Capsule Corporation's space researches. It had nearly every piece of technology to live on known to man. But Vegeta looked closely, and upon glancing at the center of the ship he found a wide, rectangle shaped slot in the middle of the floor. Walking over to it, he searched for a button of a switch. Finding it, he pressed it. There was a loud hissing sound as the slot widened and opened into a circle. Inside, there was a smaller ship, made for a lot less people.

Vegeta smirked triumphantly.

Bulma _would_ have something like this. Now how to get it out?

He turned and took a few steps back to inspect the ship. Not finding any more buttons, he looked for the control panel. He had to be careful about what he pressed. There were a few times he mistook some buttons for others. So he considered what buttons looked like the 'on' button. A big red button on the right caught his eye. But from experience, he knew that not all big red buttons did the obvious. So he pressed the green button and the ship lit up. He waited for any other movement and when there was none, he continued. There was a smaller green button near the one he pressed.

Upon closer inspection, he saw that all of the buttons and the panel had a distinct color and had a smaller version of it. There was two of each button, so he guessed the smaller set was for the smaller ship. So he pressed the smaller green button and the other ship activated. He only wanted to use the smaller ship so he focused on the smaller buttons. Finding an orange button he pushed it hoping it was the right one. The small ship did not respond. Then a light bulb went off in his head. He ran outside and looked over the ships exterior until he found a button. It was the only button on the outside of the ship. He was sure it was the button to encapsulate the ship.

It was what Capsule Corp was popular for. Condensing materials into small pocket sized capsules for easy transportation. Even ships as large as buildings could be compacted to fit into a pocket. So Vegeta entered the ship once again and went to the smaller one. He instantly found the button and pressed it. A second and a big puff later, the ship was in the palm of his hand. He walked back out of the ship and proceeded to do the same with the larger one. Then he threw the capsule containing the smaller ship to the ground and it popped back out, now on the lawn. He pocked the larger ship and entered the smaller.

Finally, it was time to go. The smaller ship was not the same in design as the larger one. It did not have as much uses other than flying, and it served as a gravity machine, like most of Bulma's ships. It did contain the bare essentials, Food for a year, a bath, a small bedroom and a shelter below the ship for cargo. Like the earlier models. But this one was more heavy duty and was made to withstand more pressure than the other ships. Vegeta started up the ship and went to set the coordinates before he realized something. He had no idea where Goku was. Since he left, Vegeta lost track of his life force. Realizing what this could mean, Vegeta was worried for a brief moment. But he knew he could not doubt Goku strength. Still... There were some beings in the universe that could just as easily be ruthless enough to catch Goku by surprise and---

No! He was certain that Goku was alive and even though he couldn't feel him, something inside was telling him that he was making too much out of nothing.

Maybe he was alone on a barren planet wasting away? Or maybe he had found a new life and blended into some planet's culture?

Where ever he was and whatever he was doing Vegeta was certain that as long as it took, he would find him. But when he found him he wasn't sure what he would do. He wasn't going through galaxies and across light years of space just to ask Goku why he had left. Then why was he going? Vegeta paused in mid-action. He was about to press the take- off button. Where was he going and why? If he found Goku, would he be able to bring him back? Would he have already found happiness on another planet and want nothing to do with him anymore?

All things considered, Goku left with the intention of never coming back, even though he left with nothing more than the clothing that covered him. He was planning to start off new. Did that mean that he forgot about the Earth, about Vegeta? His hand wavered over the button, unsure of why he was going to press it. But he had to know why Goku had left. It would provide at least enough closure to get him to stop thinking about him. Besides, the duration of the trip didn't bother him. It wasn't like he had anything better to do with his time.

With that in mind his finger descended on the button and the ship took off.

Vegeta decided he would not settle into his normal training routine until he could gather his thoughts. For one thing, he didn't know where to begin to look for his younger companion, and for another, he had no idea what to if and when he found him. He also didn't know how longs it would take. Depending on where Goku was, he could be anywhere from Earth's galaxy to any other reaches of outer space. He could be _anywhere._

"Well", he said aloud "I'd better get started on training, it's not like I'll find him sitting around."

For the next 72 hours he trained nonstop until he collapsed in an exhausted heap, panting harshly. Sweat dripped down every muscle on his lean body. Vegeta rolled over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. Considering his options, he crawled over to the wall and folded his legs. Perhaps he would meditate. He corrected himself; he would have to try to find Goku the old fashioned way. He could feel no hint of Ki, but maybe he was suppressing it. Maybe the closer he got to the edge of the galaxy, the more the other Saiyans Ki would be visible. If Goku was keeping his Ki low on purpose, he didn't want to be found. He was toying with the idea of staying with him. Earth had become boring over the decades; maybe a change of scenery would lift his spirits. Goku probably wanted that.

Wherever the other Saiyan was, it would be no easy task finding him. But that wouldn't stop Vegeta from looking. But it did still bother him that he couldn't feel Goku's life force. Even if he didn't want to be found, at least Vegeta should have been able to feel _something. _Come to think of it, his power level disappeared months after he left the planet. It could have meant anything. He could be dead… Vegeta shook his head violently. He was not dead. But that was only a possibility. How could he find out though? Suddenly an idea popped into his head. That Kai guy! He would surely know where Goku was.

He closed his eyes and concentrated. Searching until he got King Kai's attention. "Kai!" The bug looking king was surprised to hear him.

"_Yes Vegeta"_

"Where is Kakarot?" The link was silent for a moment before King Kai spoke again.

"_Vegeta, why do you need to know?"_

Vegeta grit his teeth in annoyance. Who was this fool to question him? "I just want to know, I'm looking for him, tell me where he is, now!"

King Kai sighed heavily on the other side. There was no easy way to say this. It seemed like Vegeta really wanted to find him. _"Vegeta, Goku is not on earth, but I assume you know that. But I can't tell you where he is." _

Vegeta's eyes widened. "What? Why not!"

King Kai didn't answer for a long while. "Why not!" Vegeta screamed.

"_Goku does not wish to be found. Otherwise I would be able to tell you where he is. But I haven't been able to sense his life force for almost a year now. I felt it a couple of months ago, but then it slowly faded away. But one thing is for certain, he is alive, but I don't know where."_

"What do you mean by that? Kakarot told me he would leave, he did not say where, but you're like his tail, you always have contact with him. Stop your ridiculous lying and tell me where he is now!"

Why was the old fart lying? He knew where Goku was, he was just too wary of the prince to tell him. He would make the old bug talk.

"_Vegeta I'm not sure how you plan on making me tell you, but even if you could, I can't because I don't know myself. When his Ki disappeared a while back, I felt something strange. I can't describe the feeling, but it was wrong. For about three weeks, I could feel his energy shifting negatively. But wait, before you jump to conclusions, I tried to call him, but I could not get through. When I did try, the wall around his mind was so strong it felt like he didn't even possess any feelings. When I felt this I tried to pinpoint his location. I found him on a planet called Lais."_

King Kai paused, giving Vegeta a moment to absorb all he had said. He could hear the Princes breathing through their link. He sounded upset.

"Where is that?" He finally responded.

"_Lais is a planet in the far reaches of the universe. It is about three galaxies away. West. In your ship, I would say it would take about 8 months to get there. But Vegeta, his Ki has disappeared from that planet weeks ago. I don't know how to find him anymore. I'm sorry you're on your own." _

"I'll find him myself. No thanks to you!" Vegeta spat and closed the link. Well so much for that. But King Kai was more help than he knew. Though Goku was no longer on Lais, Vegeta still felt that he should go and find out what he could about his current whereabouts. Vegeta set the coordinates of Lias. The only problem was what King Kai had said. Was Goku's really trying that hard not to be found? And what of this negative energy? Did that mean that Goku was possessed by something?

Unfortunately as good as the old guy's information was, it only left more questions unanswered.

It was going to be hard traveling for 8 months with all the questions filling his head. He had to take his mind off of it somehow. He would train until he got there in the mean time. Not a moment after he began his difficult kata, a very loud voice shouted in his head.

"_VEGETA!"_

"Gahhh!" Vegeta's body slammed into the ceiling. What the fuck!

"What the hell!"

"_Vegeta" _the voice said again.

It was King Kai again.

"What the hell do you want you made me lose concentration?"

"_I wanted to let you know that Lais is a planet made completely of ice. I hope your ship can handle it because Lais has the coldest atmospheric temperature in the universe. You have to be well prepared. A blanket won't help, nor will a coat. I really don't think anything you have will help, not even your Ki. You won't make it passed the atmosphere conscious. Perhaps you won't make it at all. Listen to me closely, Vegeta! You are better off not going to Lais at all. You should just find Goku elsewhere. If you go you will be risking your life for nothing!" _

"Then how the hell am I supposed to find Kakarot?"

"_Goku only left that planet a few weeks ago, he couldn't have made it far. The Lais-jins are evil, ruthless beings and they are very much like the Saiyans were"_

Vegeta shot off the ceiling. "What? What did you say?"

"_I mean, they purge planets in exchange for technology and other supplies. They share the planet with another, more docile race. But they are not weak, either. Goku's Ki disappeared after he landed on Lais. Then the negative energy started to form around him. I have a bad feeling about this. Just be careful."_

The link closed and Vegeta sat on the floor. Now everything was more unclear than before. He agreed with King Kai. Something was not right. And if the Lais-jin were anything like the Saiyans, then Goku was in trouble, especially if he didn't make it into the atmosphere conscious. They could have done anything to him. But he couldn't go to Lais. He had to make sure that Goku didn't get too far. Someway somehow, He was going to find him.


	5. Chapter 5

SonSofia here, I did make a slip up in the second and fourth chapters. It would take Vegeta four weeks to get to Lais. Not **8 **months. I was thinking ahead to Dusk, which is much farther. It would take Kakarot/Tarneus almost four months to get to Dusk and Vegeta longer. I was not really on my rocker that day, so excuse me. Here's chapter Five, Instant Transmission mission. Hope you enjoy, I know I did writing it. Oh, I almost forgot, I changed the title because now it doesn't fit anymore. Like I said, I am writing randomly and this fic didn't turn out the way I thought it would. I still like it though. I NEED HELP CHOOSING A NEW TITLE!! SOMEONE.., anyone?

The time it was taking to arrive at this planet was beginning to annoy Tarneus. He was sure he should have been there quicker, or maybe it was his excitement that made him so giddy. Either way, he wished the ship would hurry up and get there. It was boring in space, and he had been there for 3 months already. What the hell was taking so long? There were no more stars in this part of the galaxy so maybe that meant he was close? Planets were getting smaller and smaller. The ship specified that it would take 3 ½ months to get there, but Tarneus was already restless. He had passed the Sigma Planet ages ago, not caring what the elder Lais-jin had said.

"Not the boss of me…" He muttered.

He thought he should have been used to spending so much time in space, but the journey bore the hell out him. Space was lonely and he hadn't run into one ship. He did have to dodge a sun that was bigger up close than he thought, but that was about all the action he got while up there. The old Lais-jin had bothered him again, while he was in the bathroom no less, telling him to return to Lais.

"_Didn't I tell you to fuck off?" Tarneus asked. _

"_Tarneus, you have to return, as soon as possible, you are not ready for this mission. You're an arrogant fool who has no business disobeying orders!" _

"_I'm ready, it's you who's having the trouble understanding that I don't follow orders anymore." _

_The Lais-jin grunted, "Yes I gathered that, so why don't you **not** bring your conceited ass back here, how's that?" _

_Tarneus had to laugh. "That's fine old man, but do expect me back to obliterate your shitty planet" _

The look on that red freak's face was comical. As ugly as that thing was, it shouldn't have been able to produce such a disturbing look. Better he wasn't Lais-jin, or he'd look like that. For him, he was handsome, if not a little roughened. But the clothes were killing him. He donned a long white robe like shirt with a nappy sash and ugly green pants that tapered off at the bottom. He would definitely have to kill someone for a new outfit. This one was simply terrible. For all the power they claimed to have they should have at least had a better wardrobe. It was becoming tempting to stop by a service planet and get some clothing, even if it meant prolonging his trip. Something had to give, he was not going to destroy a planet and cackle at its demise wearing what he was wearing.

He put in the coordinates for a service planet on the same route and sat back in his seat. He felt powerful where he was, like nothing in the world could stop him. Bulging muscles, on a well endowed body. He felt the power course through it. It was more than he knew what to do with. Assessing what he had, he figured it would take him mere months to rip apart a solar system. Upon concentrating, he could feel out the life force's of the people on a planet thousands of miles away. He found this to be a unique power. He wished he could kill them from his spaceship, but he could not. Those creatures would live a little longer then.

Training had gotten boring over the weeks with nobody to beat the crap out of and his food supply was running low. To make things worse, he had been having those dreams again. Dreams of himself and other people he swore he'd never seen before, but they were so… _familiar_. Whatever they were they meant nothing and so he never gave much more thought to them. 'Goku' was the name that the people in the dream called him. Who was that? He wondered. Even though the dreams meant nothing to him, there had to be a reason that the people in his dream were calling him that. Could it have had something to do with his life before he forgot everything?

"Well, all the same, I am Tarneus and I don't live dreams" Reality suited him a lot better. Since he left Lais, he had no feelings about leaving the planet that was supposed to be his home world. Nothing struck him as worth being thought about. There was nothing for him there. But there was one planet that he found himself continually thinking about.

Earth.

What was it about this planet that had his attention most of the time? When he could think of nothing else images of a bright blue planet filled his mind. It was beautiful, but what could it mean? Maybe he was to destroy it? That must have been it. There was no real reason he should have been thinking about a planet he'd never been to, it must be that the Lais-jins put it in his memory. That was the planet he had been meant to destroy before he had the 'accident'. He never got the chance to gather the information, but he had no superiors to look up to, he would do as he pleased.

After Dusk, Earth was next.

Vegeta trained tirelessly, there was nothing better to do. Besides, there was no telling what was out there in the deepest reaches of space. He was not going to let anything catch him off guard.

It would be months before he got to Lais, and where ever Kakarot was, he was two steps ahead of him. Vegeta decided he would go to Lais anyway to get some information of his Saiyan friend's whereabouts. At the very least, he wanted to know exactly where he was looking. Kakarot didn't know he was coming, all the more reason to surprise him.

If he ever found him, there would certainly be a few things he wanted to ask. But the question that plagued his mind was, whether or not Kakarot was running from something. If not from him, then what?

Why would he move from planet to planet? Was life really that dull for him? He never showed too many signs of unhappiness with the way he lived, except when he was around Vegeta. It just didn't seem like him, but then again, he had been acting strange before he left.

The taller Saiyan had said he wanted to say goodbye, meaning he was never coming back. Would he even give him the chance to find him?

'_I should have stopped him'_

Maybe Kakarot had not though of where he wanted spend the rest of his life, and wanted to explore. This would make Vegeta's search harder, but whatever the cost he had to find him. Not paying attention, he almost slipped on the puddle of sweat he made on the floor under him, when doing a particularly strenuous one handed push up.

"Shit!" He cursed aloud. He had to be more careful.

Then something came to him. Wherever Kakarot went, why did he take a ship? Didn't he have Instant Transmission? If he wanted to he could be any where in seconds, so why did he need a ship? This being thought, he could be searching forever for him and if he didn't want to be found, then there was no point in trying to locate him. But the fact still remained that Kakarot had used a ship and maybe he still is using it. That would slow him down considerably and give Vegeta time to find him. Vegeta could only hope that the man stayed in one place long enough for him to do so. "If he starts bouncing around from planet to planet then, I'll have to go to----

That was it! All he had to do was go to the planet Kakarot went to learn the technique! If Kakarot and Cooler could do it then so could he!

Genius!

So he rushed over to the control panel and switched the coordinates to go to Planet Yardrat. It wouldn't be so hard to find him then, all he needed was some Ki activity from him and he was as good as found. Vegeta nodded his head to himself and continued working with renewed vigor and confidence. The earth raised Saiyan may not want to be found, but he had no choice now. Where Vegeta was now, it would take a few short days to get to Yardrat. Blasting off into space at full speed, Vegeta smiled through the rest of his training for the day.

He always wanted to know how it felt to move so fast ones body becomes a mass of light. Kakarot had made it sound so special. Even that green thing, Cell had found it to be a useful technique and indeed it was. He used it to comeback to earth and kill Vegeta's only son, the evil thing he was. Kakarot used it on many occasions to save the planet, and so he must learn it too, if he were going to save Kakarot. "It shouldn't take long, after all, I am smarter than Kakarot"

Yardrat had some weird way of dress though, and if he was going to spend time learning the technique on that planet, he would bring his own wardrobe, thank you very much. The first time Kakarot came back wearing the ridiculous outfit made up of old parts of other suits, it was all Vegeta could do from cracking a smile. The shirt part was plain ugly, but for some reason, Kakarot really didn't look that bad in it. The outfit itself was hilarious, but him in it sort of took the edge off. But damned if Vegeta would wear that!

For the rest of the time to Yadrat, he would lessen his training time and concentrate more on attempting to locate Kakarot's Ki. He had done a very goof job of hiding it and even King Kai couldn't find him. But…he wasn't dead, was he? He couldn't be, there was still something inside of Vegeta that could still feel him. After their fusion, in the fight against Majin Buu, he could feel him after they split apart, even when they were destined to be that way forever. Vegeta supposed he should have thanked that pink blob of horror. If it weren't for his disgustingly toxic body, he and Kakarot would be fused together this very day.

They had formed a bond of sorts in the short time they had been together, Kakarot's emotions spilling into his mind and his into Kakarot's. Whatever they had been able to feel was never spoken between the two, but Vegeta knew that he felt something strange and foreign. He couldn't explain what it was, but he knew that it was the kind of feeling that the other Saiyan kept in the back of his mind. It had been somewhat hidden, in that it was not on the surface like his regular feelings. Almost like it was something he wanted to deny. But then again, who was Vegeta to say he didn't have some monsters in his closet? He had feelings he wanted to reject for what seemed like forever. He knew all about denial, and if he could have only stayed with Kakarot long enough to search his mind for that emotion in the far reaches of his psyche…

Whatever the feeling was, it obviously bothered him enough to put it to the back of his mind, and as far as anyone knew, Kakarot was an open person. But not that open. Nobody could honestly say that they had ever seen him cry, once. Vegeta on the other hand had cried 4 times in the course of the time he had known him and in front of him no less. Vegeta wasn't exactly an emotional rollercoaster himself, but it seemed at times that Kakarot _couldn't _cry. He just never could produce that kind of raw emotion. He exhibited rage, happiness, sadness, confusion, love, pity, disgust, but never the ability to shed tears.

Kakarot was the most emotionally animated person he knew, for a Saiyan at least. But the fact that he didn't cry only showed how strong he really was, in comparison to Vegeta, who had little emotions but still found it possible to weep. Vegeta frowned. That didn't mean he was a crybaby or anything, he just couldn't help it sometimes, foolish emotions getting in the way. And always in battle, the place where he should have kept his feelings to himself. Kakarot never teased him about it though, and for that he was grateful at the least. And nobody but him had ever seen Vegeta cry more than once. Except maybe Dende, and he would keep that shit to himself if he knew what was good for him!

Vegeta began to wonder why his friend really left. It was something that he couldn't deal with on Earth but for how long had he been harboring this…problem? That was all Vegeta could call it because he didn't know _what_ it was.

It could have been anything. Anything. But whatever it was it disturbed him to the point where he had to leave the planet he swore to protect. Was it really something so strong? An emotion? A danger of some kind? It seemed to highly questionable that he would just leave to leave. There was a reason behind it and Vegeta would make it his business to find out what it was. It wasn't very likely that it had anything to do with the death of Goten, but that happened six years ago. Not that it wasn't sad. But it wasn't unlikely. That depended on how well Kakarot hid his emotions, and Vegeta knew he did. All of the time.

Goten was killed when a horrible gas was released into the air in a city in China, where he went to visit his girlfriend. The gas mutated him and he didn't last more than a few days after that before he exploded into a mass of flesh, dead. It _was_ freakish, and the messed up part was that the Dragon claimed that it was a natural cause of death. Kakarot was shattered, but he didn't once shed a single tear. He took it several times better than Vegeta would have taken it had it been his own son. He needed some time alone and what he did with that time, Vegeta never knew, but he was sure his companion did not spend it crying.

Vegeta wished the bond was strong enough to detect Kakarot, but it had weakened over the years, neither of them far enough apart to ever have to feel the bond. When they were closer, the bond was weaker, and when they were farther, he could feel traces of it in his head. He was sure Kakarot did as well. Lately the bond was being shunned as was he when Kakarot would avoid him, wouldn't come near him for much of anything. A wall had been put up on the already weak bond, but Vegeta thought nothing of it. Maybe he needed some time alone again.

Still, he couldn't help think that this had something to do with him. Kakarot had felt the need to tell him goodbye at the very least. It was the first time he had come to see him in weeks, just to tell him he was leaving.

'_I should have stopped him' _Vegeta thought for the umpteenth time in days.

He really should have, because of him, Kakarot could be anywhere, never to be found. He had to know why he was avoiding him and why he left so suddenly. It wasn't like Vegeta hadn't wanted to see him, he looked forward to it everyday, it was what got him up in the mornings. Kakarot normally had nowhere else he had to be, but he managed to be everywhere but home. Home. It was his home as well as Vegeta's and Vegeta didn't mind sharing his space. There was plenty of it and he didn't see a reason not to. Kakarot would go to different parts of the planet and lower his Ki so that Vegeta couldn't find him. No one else would be looking for him. He had never thought that he would resort to leaving Earth. Was there not enough places to be than at home with him?

'_Shit, that came out the wrong way.' _

Or did it?

He liked Kakarot's company admittedly. It was lonely and the house was spacious enough, he wanted Kakarot to fill the space with him. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Kakarot didn't mind and neither did he.

They never got in each others way. In fact, Kakarot watched out for him like the plague. He never wanted to touch Vegeta if he didn't have to. Vegeta didn't find this strange, he didn't want to be touched anyway. But it was the _way_ Kakarot avoided it. If he so much as brushed by Vegeta, he would apologize profusely and promise to never do it again.

Like it was something that was sinful or wrong. Vegeta always thought that that was weird. So what if the other man touched him by accident? It happened.

One time when they were together eating in the kitchen, Kakarot went to take the dish from his hand. When their hands made contact, he instantly dropped the plate and it shattered into small pieces.

"Kakarot, what the hell is wrong with you?"

The younger Saiyan backed up and bent over to pick up the shards of broken glass. "Uhhh, sorry Vegeta, I didn't mean to touch you, I was just---

"So what, you touched me, big damn deal. You didn't have to drop the plate. Do you think I have a disease or something?"

Kakarot put his hands up defensively, "No, no it's nothing like that, I just know you don't like to be touched. It was an accident. I swear it will never happen again." He always said that, but there was no getting around the mistake sometimes, it just happened. It was getting annoying to hear him keep saying how sorry he was every time they touched.

One day in particular, Vegeta had had enough and shouted, "For the sake of Dende, Kakarot, you can touch me, damnit, I won't kill you!" Kakarot preferred not to though and it never happened again. They went through their time, only touching when they sparred and it was then that Kakarot made sure to hit him hard, every one of his hits were deep. He was taking the days frustrations out on Vegeta.

Maybe that was why he left? He didn't want to be around Vegeta and risk touching him at all? That sounded ridiculous, but it could be true, or partway true. If so then it was definitely his fault Kakarot left. Well, then it was his mission to rectify the situation. If his Saiyan counterpart felt that uncomfortable around him, then they should work on it.

But Kakarot was something else. He could strip naked in front of the world and not feel an ounce of modesty, but he was always very careful around the prince, always making sure he took his showers in the night, so that he would never make the mistake of running into Vegeta without clothes on. Vegeta on the other hand didn't prance around naked or half naked either, it was a matter of modesty for him. Vegeta had already seen him nude, once, half naked dozens of times and Kakarot didn't seem to care then. But he cared recently before he left. Vegeta, not being the most emotion oriented person in the world, couldn't put his finger on exactly what was wrong.

But he was more than determined to find out, even if took years. He had time.

Tarneus had a headache. And it wasn't pleasant at all. It came out of nowhere, he was sitting staring off into space, literally, and suddenly his head started to throb.

"What the fuck is this?" he asked himself.

He had never experienced a headache before, not that he knew of. It hurt, of course and he didn't know what to do about it. Perhaps there was some explanation for it, but for now all he could do was sit and wait for it to go away. It had been hours now and the not-so-dull throbbing in his head did not abate. He sat there holding his head, trying to think of something to do about it lest he go insane.

It hurt a lot, like something hit him. But he had been awake all this time and no one but him was on the ship. It was stupid of him to think that it was nothing more than a feeling. But it _ached_. Whatever this was, it was also making him feel sluggish, it was harder for him to move. Now that he looked around, things were getting blurry and colorless…

"What the fu—was all he could get out before he collapsed.

For one thing, it was dark and something smelled dead. Tarneus woke up still with the headache, and glanced around him, surprised to find that he was no longer in the ship.

"Where the hell am I?" he wondered.

He was sure he fell asleep in the ship. Wait, he didn't fall asleep, he passed out. But why? It was now clear that there was some foul play going on here. Maybe those damn Lais-jins got him, they would pay when he found them. "Hey, show yourself you pea-brained, mutant retards!" He winced holding the sides of his head. He was obviously sensitive to loud sounds.

And what the _hell_ was that smell?!

Tarneus looked around again, and finding nothing let his nose guide him in the direction of the stench. It sure did stink, some thing was dead that was for sure. The place was still dark but it was not really a place, it was more like… a _void_. There were no doors, no staircases, no lights, no ceilings, no walls, and…as far he could _see_ there was no floor either! What was this place?

Tarneus walked further until the scent was too strong to continue. He figured he must be close judging by the intensified smell. His eyes scanned the area and caught sight of something, a lump of something, on the 'floor'. He hesitantly walked forward until he had to reel back at the horrible putrid stink that emanated from the corpse. Whatever died, this was it. It was a human, or something humanoid, wearing nothing. Blood was all around it.

Tarneus stood a few feet away from it and inched his foot forward to nudge at the body. When he flipped it over, he gasped in mortified horror as the dead things face came into view.

Great Galaxies, it was him! He was staring into the lifeless eyes of _himself_.

"What is this? What kind of…"

But sure enough it was him without a doubt, everything was similar right down to the spiky black hair. It was dead, but had no wounds or scar or any bleeding orifices he could see, but it was definitely dead. Tarneus held his nose tighter and backed away from the corpse. His head was killing him and he stumbled as far away as he could but for some reason no matter how far he went, the corpse never moved from where it was but neither did he. His legs were moving, but he was not. The corpse stayed where it was, not more than a few feet from him. He turned and ran, looking back, the body on the 'floor' never once moved but followed him still. "What the hell, why can't I get away?" Things were getting weird, and he didn't like it.

Suddenly a voice broke the silence and startled him.

"_I should have stopped him." _

What?

"_Why did he leave?" _

Who the hell was this? Tarneus' head swiveled in all directions, but could not find the source of the voice.

"_Maybe_…_"_ The voice said again.

Maybe what? That voice….sounded familiar, he was sure he never heard it before, but he knew it from somewhere.

"_Kakarot…"_ That name again, he had heard it in his dreams, but who…

"Who is Kakarot?" The voice did not answer. Instead it repeated the name. _"Kakarot."_

Who the hell_? "Kakarot."_

"Who are you?" Tarneus shouted into the nothingness. Who was playing these games and how was it that he was lying dead on the 'floor' over…. Tarneus looked one more time at the dead version of himself and let out a shocked cry. It was gone.

But the pool of blood was still there.

He was going insane, where the hell did that dead guy go? And why didn't he take his blood with him? Was he really dead? _"Kakarot…"_ Damn voice, wouldn't just shut up!

When he turned around to try and leave, he screamed. In front of him was the dead corpse that had mysteriously disappeared. It was very much alive now.

Was this the voice?

"No, I'm not 'the voice'"

Oh, it could speak! It seemed to understand him so Tarneus asked, "Who the hell is doing this, where the hell am I and what the hell are you?" The other him smiled.

"Don't you know? I'm you. And as for where you are, that's not important. Not as important as why you are here. And no one is doing anything." Tarneus barred his teeth and growled, "Don't bullshit me, it's obvious you're not me. You look like me and sound like me but, you were dead just a few minutes ago, how the hell did you come back? And I do think it is important to know where I am!"

Another smile.

"Well, you're right I was dead." It smirked and took a step forward. "But as you can see, I'm alive and well now, and I am you. But you don't remember me. Oh, about the voice, you don't remember him either, but you should."

Tarneus pointed at the still naked thing and hissed, "I'm going to ask one more time, and I don't want to hear any more riddles. Who or what the hell are you? Why am I here and who is that voice?" "You know him and you obviously know me. Let me explain, I am----

Suddenly the pain in his head increased sharply and he felt himself nearing another blackout. Again, he collapsed onto the floor, but this time he went right through it, falling into the dark abyss below.

When he awoke, this time he was in his ship, and everything looked normal. Tarneus jumped out of his seat, his headache gone and ran around the ship, searching every nook and cranny for any signs of a hiding Lais-jin. He found none and warily returned to the control deck.

"Then it was a dream. That explains it, I know that I'm not quite that crazy"

But the dream, it was so _real. _ There was something about it that made him think. He really had wanted to know who that voice was, but he woke up before he could find out. Better he never knew. Surely though, he would have to go back to sleep sometime and when he did, he might find the answer to his questions. Either way, he knew what he knew and that was that he was him and nobody else, and he was NOT a loon! But still, it was a disturbing dream nonetheless, he almost didn't want to sleep again. He had been having odd dreams since he returned from his mission on Earth, but was there more to it then the Lais-jins let on? He'd bet there was. These dreams were too frequent to be a coincidence and he was positive they were having an effect on him. Why, he didn't know. All he knew was that he was him and nobody else. That was it.

If someone was playing head games with him, he would find out when he returned to Lais to destroy it. If those red things somehow got into his head, they would pay dearly. However, somewhere in the back of his mind, Tarneus knew that his dreams had more significance than he thought and it may not have had anything to do with the Lais-jins. He would kill them anyway, just for sport. Getting up again, he went to the bathroom to take a pee.

Afterward he decided he would play around with his powers. Flexing his fingers, he focused as much of his Ki as he could and let it all out with a shout. Power exploded all around him he could feel his muscles expand. Ki crackled around his body, the entire ship shook.

"Yes, that's it. I am the most powerful being in the world!!!"

He stopped and walked over to sit down, and caught a glimpse of himself in the window. He gasped. His hair was blonde and his eyes were teal. He had transformed into something. Whatever it was, it made him stronger than he had ever been and it had felt so natural and effortless, like it was apart of him. He smirked and took a closer look. He didn't look any different save for his hair and eye color, he was still handsome. He cackled dryly and sat down. The transformation didn't make him feel complete, and he was sure he had more power stashed inside of him, but he couldn't bring it out in the ship. Well, when he was finished with the service station, he would destroy it anyway so what better a place to test his strength?

Vegeta's head shot up when he felt a sudden burst of power in another galaxy. What was that?

It felt like…Kakarot!

He was alive, Vegeta was sure of it. There was no doubt that that was his Ki, but something about it felt off. He was a Super Saiyan, he knew. That small spark of Ki gave him a lot more confidence. But his Ki felt different, him for sure, but different, like King Kai said. Evil. Something was wrong with Kakarot, something wasn't right. He wasn't the same, what happened? Vegeta's brow furrowed in concentration, trying to feel the energy again, but he couldn't, that was it. But it was all Vegeta needed.

"Hey Kai, did you feel that"

The King answered immediately. _"Yes, Vegeta I did, there is a negative force in it though, I'm not sure what it is."_

"Where is he?"

"_He is heading in the direction of a service station in the Konack galaxy. That is where Tapion is from. I don't know where he's going, but you must get to him as soon as you can Vegeta, I don't like the looks of this."_

Vegeta knew, things were getting stranger by the day and it was all centered around Kakarot. "I'm going to Yardrat, to learn the Instant Transmission technique, I think it will be helpful."

"_You better hope he raises his Ki like that again because I won't be able to tell you where he is if he doesn't. That's a good idea, but it does present the problem of time, something you have very little of. If you don't find him, I don't know what he'll do. I saw him Vegeta, he didn't look like himself, he looked…different. Something is very wrong. Find him as soon as possible."_

Vegeta nodded. He wished he could see his Saiyan friend at the moment, if he were that different could he bring him out of it? "I will call for you again when I need to" He shut the link and went to stare out of the window.

He had an idea, but he wasn't sure it was a good one. He would raise his Ki in a call of sorts and maybe Kakarot would feel that it is similar to his. Hopefully his curiosity would get the better of him and he would look for Vegeta. Would it work was the question? He would think more on it after he learned the Instant Transmission. He needed to secure that he would be able to find Kakarot in time, if at all. It would be useless if he could feel him and never get to him.

Despite the situation, there hadn't been this much action in his life for years and less when Kakarot left. He spent his time training when he wasn't thinking and sleeping. Life was boring and there was nothing to stick around for. Even with billions of people on the planet, he still felt like he was alone in his own universe, with nothing to live for. Nothing new to see, no one around him. It felt so empty, he craved some kind of change. Too bad it came in this form, but it was better than nothing and maybe, when this was all finished, he would get Kakarot to be more comfortable around him and stop avoiding him.

The ship was suddenly jerked forward, almost sending Vegeta through the window. "What was that?" Looking up, he saw that he was caught in a meteor storm.

Sucking his teeth he rushed into the cargo compartment and grabbed a spacesuit. Putting it on, he ran to the ships door and yanked it open, floating out. He dodged a meteor and closed the door. The ship could not sustain any further damage. It was strong but he wasn't taking any chances. He floated around the ship and pushed it out of the way of the meteors. Then he turned his attention back and summoned his Ki in both hands, blasting the meteors until they were space dust. Returning to the ship, he took the suit off and tossed it aside.

A minor distraction.

The computer bleeped, signaling he was nearing Yadrat. In just a few minutes, he would land and he would waste no time demanding that they teach him the technique, he had no time. He strapped the belt around his torso and held on for the bumpy landing. The ship rocketed into Yadrat's stratosphere and through its atmosphere before landing hard on the surface.

The ship hissed as the door creaked open and Vegeta stepped out. The first thing that greeted his eyes, was the site of the Yadrat-jins staring wide-eyed up at him. He smirked regally.

"I don't have time to talk or explain, I need you to teach me the technique of Instantaneous Movement. And be quick about it, as I said, I don't have time."

They continued to gawk at him, neither of them moving a muscle.

"Hey!" Vegeta barked.

One of them jumped and they all began to run.

"_Where_ are you going? I want to learn and you will teach me. You taught my friend how to do it, now teach me."

A few of them stopped running and turned to face him. "What will you do to us?" Vegeta shook his head. "Nothing! Just hurry I need to save someone." "Who?" It asked. Vegeta sneered, "Why does it matter?"

"Because, the Yardrat-jin got a little bolder and took a step toward him. "People have come here in the past with bad intentions of how to use the skill. I don't want to cause the universe chaos by giving you the power to move to any planet you want."

Vegeta couldn't believe this! He did not have time for such discrepancies.

"You know my friend you taught it to him a few decades ago. He came here hurt and you helped him. He is a Saiyan, as am I." Realization crossed the Yadrat-jins face as he recalled. "You mean the being with the strange hair?" "Yes, that's who I mean" They would talk, their clothes were less than fashionable.

"Is he in peril?"

What was with all the questions, didn't he tell them three times that he had no time for this?

"Again, I don't have time to explain I have to save him but I can't get to him in time, which I stress again I am not rich with. So would you just teach me the technique so I can go?!" He snapped.

The Yardrat-jin nodded and motioned for Vegeta to follow him. As Vegeta walked behind them, he couldn't help but notice that their planet looked dirt poor. The houses, if you could call them that, were made out of used items like vehicles, metal and other spare parts. It looked like all they had was junk no one else wanted. Kakarot said they weren't very strong, so they were weak as they were poor.

"How long will this take?"

"It depends." Was the short answer he got.

He frowned. Why were they suddenly so defensive? "On what?" It turned around and looked up at him. They were a very short race of people. "It depends on how strong you are, and your ability to control and bend your mind" Vegeta could do that easily. "Then I should learn quickly. I can do those things, now how long will it take?" It didn't answer this time and led him into a small shack that looked like it would fall apart any second. "Sit" Vegeta sat, resisting the urge to tell it off.

"Now, it should take you a few days---

"I don't have that, damnit! Isn't there a faster way?"

"I'm afraid not, you will either have to wait or leave." Vegeta closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He would have to wait and hope that Kakarot didn't worsen. He didn't have a choice at all, he would have to sit here for days, and be forcibly patient. These things weren't making it easier for him either, he didn't like their attitude. "Hurry up with it, the universe may be in danger. And you will all die anyway if you don't help me."

Vegeta wasn't sure if that was what would happen, but there was always a possibility and he wanted to leave nothing out. It might even make the Yardrat-jin work harder and faster.

"Sit still and concentrate your mind, think of nothing else. This is akin to meditating, but it is different. I want you to relax as much as possible and listen to my voice and nothing else." Vegeta had to try hard, but he let his limbs loosen and closed his eyes. This was annoying because he was never a patient person. These creatures were too damn calm for him and he didn't trust them.

"You don't? Well, you'll have to if you want to learn the technique"

Vegeta's eyes popped open. That thing read his mind. It just smiled wisely and folded its hands in its lap. "Don't do that again!" "Can't help it, I have to. This technique requires it. I will not read your inner most thoughts, but I just found it offending that you don't trust us. You asked for our help, I would think that you could, at the very least----

"I don't care anymore, I shouldn't have said anything! Just hurry up. I don't have time for your mindless chatter!"

It was becoming increasingly hard to deal with these talkative little bastards without losing his cool. His body had tensed up and he had to work on relaxing it again. It wasn't easy getting his mind to concentrate on nothing when Kakarot was out there in trouble, how could he not think about that? With great effort he pushed his thoughts away and cleared his head. "Now imagine being anywhere, anywhere at all and go there"

"What do you mean, I can't just go there"

"I mean take your mind there" Vegeta didn't understand. "What are you talking about?"

"Like imagination, but you have to really believe and feel yourself there, I don't know how else to say it. Just be there. Anywhere."

Vegeta thought about his home as that was the only place he could vividly remember having been there so long. He didn't want to go there, but he had to, it was easy and he knew it well. So he pictured himself there, alone again with his head down on the table as he had been so many times before. It was almost like a dream, he could see everything now, the kitchen, as it had been with simple appliances and a large rectangular table. The table Vegeta sat at too many times in a day thinking about what his life had become, what it could have been if he had done something different. It was his favorite place to think for some reason and he wouldn't go anywhere else with his thoughts.

The voice of the Yardrat-jin broke through his dream like world. "Good, I can feel you. Now send your body there, in your mind. Send it and we'll see if it works for you if you can go there. The easiest part is going the hardest part is coming back. You can't come back to a place you're not familiar with if you have not mastered the technique. I will suggest that you be very careful in where you want to go, because they might have unpleasant consequences. Of course, one of us will have to get you."

Well why didn't the thing say that before? Vegeta was starting to get alarmed, afraid that he had made it this far and a small slipup could mean having to travel all the way back here again and that was not something he wanted or could afford to do.

Vegeta's mind went back to his thoughts and he carefully dragged his energy and combined it with his mind to be at Capsule Corp. Sweat trickled down his temple, and he took in shaky breaths. It wasn't as easy as it sounded, not that Vegeta expected it to be, but damn, the effort it took….

Landing on the service station was pretty rough, but he got through it. It was just a very small planet that was a market. Looking down at himself, Tarneus ripped off the ugly crème colored shirt off of him and walked over to a clothing vendor, snatched a shirt from the rack, put it on, and walked away.

"Hey you, you do have to pay for that with something!"

Tarneus turned around. "Do you have pants?"

The vendor looked at him like he was crazy. "Will you pay for that shirt?"

"Whatever just give me some good looking pants, preferably black."

The vender pointed over to another market stand and held his hand out. "Give me something of value for the shirt, what have you got?" Tarneus looked at the vendors hand and back at him.

"I have nothing for you, now leave me alone!"

"You said you did, you lied. Take the shirt off and go somewhere else, this stuff isn't free you know."

Tarneus turned and headed over to the pants vendor. "Where do you think you're going?" "I said I needed some pants, so I'm going to get some. I'd hate to have to kill you before I get all I need." The vendor didn't look happy, but then he smiled like he was hiding something.

"You know, we've had people like you here before and you're no different from the others that try to rob the service stations in this galaxy. You will now suffer the same fate as they did. Nobody walks out of here the same when they try to steal from us."

Tarneus laughed heavily, not bothering to keep in the fact that the man in front of him was sealing his own fate and that it was funny. "You can't stop me, but I would appreciate it if you would just let me go this once, I don't have anything to give." He would play this game and see what the vendor would do. "No. I don't think so, you pay now or you leave in the rags you came in."

Well, he tried.

"Okay, I'll kill you, but only because you begged me to." Letting energy fill his palm, he raised his hand and blasted the vendors head off. Screams were heard and people were running everywhere. Tarneus took his time picking and choosing what he wanted, like nothing was happening.

He found a few things he would have liked to wear and picked up some food. And he would get some fuel. That was all he needed.

"You there, turn around and meet your demise!" Tarneus amusedly did as he was asked and turned around to address whatever dare stop him. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Now, you're coming with me and if we have to, we'll hurt you even kill you. Now, comply or else!" He stared boredly at the police man and outstretched his hand.

"Die."

The policeman tried to run, but to no avail. He was ripped apart by the blast and sent to the next dimension instantly. By now people were pushing and shoving into their spacepods and some where hitting others over the head with blunt objects and taking their ships. The chaos was music to his ears, their screams made it a lot more fun. He flew back to his ship and had to kill four people to get them away from it and put his newly stolen stuff inside. Exiting the ship, he went back down into the chaos and began firing away at everything in sight.

Screams of agony and fear filled his ears as people all around him died at his hands. It was the best he'd felt all day. After some minutes when all of the people were destroyed, he stood back and surveyed his handiwork. Nothing was alive and everything was in ruins.

That's what he thought until he heard a wailing noise coming from one of the not to badly damaged spacepods. In seconds, he was inches away from whatever was making the sound.

It was a female child no more than 4 years old, crying and shaking like a leaf behind the ship. How she managed to survive, he didn't know, but she wouldn't get away this time.

"Mommy, I'm scared."

Tarneus didn't even so much as bat an eyelash as he blew her away.

Now that the planet was empty, he could test his power here without restraint. Spreading his legs a bit and tensing his arms at his side, he released as much power as he could, screaming in agony. The feeling was incredible, but painful, he never knew he could put out so much power. Light erupted from him as his hair grew down his back. Then a sharp pain shot through his tailbone and sure enough, out sprouted his tail. He didn't know he had one. He couldn't believe he was so powerful and didn't use it to destroy Lais sooner. No matter, he would get to that later.

His Ki broke and he huffed in exhaustion. He lifted his hands to his eyes and was surprised to see that they were covered in red fur. He needed a mirror. He picked up a shard of glass and angled it up and down the length of his new body.

He looked a whole lot different than before, but he never felt more at ease with himself. This new feeling, for some reason, didn't feel so new to him. Perhaps because he always had it. But then why his failure on Earth, was there someone or something there stronger than he? He doubted it. He just forgot he had the power, and he just couldn't figure out why he let the Lais-jins control him all the time they did.

All he had to do was blast them away, but from the looks of it, they weren't going to tell him of this power or his transformations. Powering down, he boarded his ship and took off.

He was done here, and he was back on his way to Dusk.

Vegeta's concentration snapped like a twig when he felt Kakarot's power level skyrocket into Super Saiyan 4. What was he doing? Was he in danger? His Ki flared for a few minutes, more than enough time for Vegeta to feel him. Something was definitely wrong, his Ki was tainted with evil, but at the same time it was still him. It just felt strange, like it wasn't all him.

"What are you doing, I told you to concentrate on nothing! I felt it too, it's your friend, but you must focus, or you will be here longer than you'd like."

It was hard, it came out of nowhere. He knew King Kai felt it and he was itching to ask of his whereabouts.

"Just a little longer, and you will be finished. You were right, you are very versatile and you learn quickly, you should be done in about one more day, but things could go a lot smoother if you concentrate."

Vegeta hesitantly went back to his training and tried to will his mind from thoughts of the other Saiyan. In just one more day he would leave and find Kakarot and find out what was wrong with him. But it looked like it wouldn't be so easy if Kakarot didn't want to leave. If he wasn't himself things might lead to confrontation, which was not something Vegeta looked forward to.

On the good side of things, he was getting better at his teleportation abilities and could almost freely go where he wanted, but he never went too far, he didn't trust the Yardrat-jins to bring him back like they said they would.

Soon he would be able to stop worrying about whether or not he missed the opportunity to find Kakarot. It didn't seem like he would flare his Ki again if for any reason at all. But Vegeta could hope. He really needed to speak to King Kai, but it would have to wait until he was finished his business here.

Just two more weeks and he would be at Dusk, but two weeks seemed like a lifetime. He wished there was some way he could get there faster. Too bad, he would have to duke it out in this ship for the time being. In the meantime, he would go to sleep. The day's events had tired him out a bit and he was ready for a nap. Deciding it was better to be careful than comfortable, Tarneus slipped into the chair in front of the control panel, and closed his eyes.

To Be Continued….. (duh!)

This was longer than the others, but I didn't have an easy time getting that out. It took days to get this idea and it only came to me yesterday. But it looks like it turned out well. Review and tell me what you think. I think it's a big step up from my previous chapters, and I hope it will only keep getting better. It takes a while to get the chapters out, but I'm working on a bunch of things at the same time, so it's hard for me. But I do it anyway, for you guys! Yay! Anyhow, I'll try and come up with some ideas for the next chapter, and if anyone has any help for me, they can always send an email. You know, Don't be shy now!


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